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The Seattle Seahawks had one of the best defenses in recent memory in 2025, and that carried them to a very impressive and dominant run to Super Bowl victory. While players like Devon Witherspoon and Leonard Williams were the stars of that group, perhaps no player was more important to the success of that unit than rookie defensive back Nick Emmanwori.
Emmanwori was mostly a safety during his college days at South Carolina, but he came into the NFL and was immediately put in the nickel by Mike Macdonald. By the end of the season, the rookie DB consistently was wrecking plays on offense in a ton of different ways, whether it be as a blitzer, a run defender or a cover guy.
The scary thing for opponents is that Emmanwori should only be getting better heading into the 2026 season. At mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, the second-year star talked about how he thinks he can get better in year two, vis Brady Henderson of ESPN.
“I think I’m looking to be more of a complete player,” Emmanwori said. “Last year as a rook, maybe after Week 8 or 9 I started noticing formations and stuff. In Week 1 I’m trying to notice stuff and be ahead of the game so I can just play fast and make more plays and finish more. Make more impactful plays on every drive.”
Emmanwori played in just 14 games last year, but he still finished with 81 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 11 pass breakups and an interception. Time and time again he made plays around the ball, especially late in the season when he gained a more prominent role in the defense.
Macdonald and company will need even more out of Emmanwori this season after losing both starting safety Coby Bryant and cornerback Riq Woolen in free agency. If the defense is going to stay at an elite level, the 22-year old may have to fill in even more gaps. However, if his stellar rookie year was any indication, Emmanwori is more than ready to take on that challenge.
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